April 2015

The baseball season has just begun.

But Middleton has already dug itself a hole.

The Cardinals dropped a pair of Big Eight Conference games last week. And Middleton fell to 0-2 in the conference and 1-4 overall.

Janesville Parker drilled the Cardinals, 10-1, last Tuesday. Verona then toppled Middleton, 6-2, last Saturday.

“We have not been able to square up on pitches,” Middleton manager Tom Schmitt said. “We knew our young players lacked experience of hitting the ball at this level, but thought they would be able to produce more quality at bats at this point. We are working daily to get the timing and mechanics necessary to be a good hitting team.

“These hitters need to make some adjustments and it is coming slowly. Pitching-wise we need to locate our pitches better. We are getting ahead of hitters, but then fail to execute an out pitch or allow the hitter to work back to a hitters count.”

The goals never really change.

The reasons may surprise you, though.

Like every girls soccer team, Middleton will aim for a state championship this season. And Cardinals’ head coach Mary Duffy has reasons that might be different than many of her peers.

“Our goals are similar as every year: win that gold ball,” said Duffy, whose team begins its season Saturday. “But it isn't for reasons that many think of.

“What I know these girls want is a great experience, a memorable end to the school year, a chance to compete and play with their teammates. And if it ends earlier than we want or it ends with a gold ball, there will still be tears because we will be sad to not be playing with each other again.

“So what we want is to continue to play together for as long as possible, and to do that, to play with these amazing seniors for as long as possible, that includes state.”

Many of the state’s elite track and field athletes converged on Camp Randall Stadium last Saturday for the Madison West Relays.

And Middleton’s boys proved once again they belong with the best of the best.

The Cardinals had several terrific performances and finished third out of 22 teams. Stevens Point won the team title with 66 points, while D.C. Everest (57.3), Middleton (51.5), Oak Creek (50) and Menomonee Falls (38) rounded out the top five.

One year ago, Middleton finished fourth at this same event, then finished fifth at state. So Cardinals coach Isaac Mezera was highly encouraged by this year’s results.

“We're off to a great start with our veterans,” Mezera said. “Now it's time to see what depth we can find with all of these new guys.”

Middleton’s top finish came from junior Perrin Hagge, who defended his title in the 800. Hagge finished in 1 minute, 58.79 seconds — more than three seconds ahead of the second place finisher.

Middleton has one of its youngest and most inexperienced baseball teams in years. So last week was an important one for the Cardinals.

Middleton spent its spring break at historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla. The Cardinals went 1-2 in their three games, but that wasn’t particularly important.

What mattered most was that Middleton got some much-needed experience against high-end competition. And that should pay dividends down the road.

“All in all we had very good practices and real good competition to test our kids in game situations,” Middleton manager Tom Schmitt said. “Our learning curve was high each day we practiced and played. 

“We gained valuable time evaluating our needs for position play and pitching depth. We grew as a team and showed some grit we will need to play with in the Big Eight.”

Middleton opened with a 12-4 win over Kenston, Ohio.